Study of root biomass in a pasture in natural regeneration in Serra do Mar State Park - nucleus Santa Virginia

• Grant number: 12/03554-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2012
• End date: November 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Grantee: Juliana Antonio
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Considered one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, the Atlantic Forest is currently fragmented and reduced to only 8% of its original coverage. Some of the factors responsible for this degradation were the different Brazilian economic cycles, in which forest areas were cleared and used for several activities such as the establishment of pastures. Such disturbances can cause local changes in the biogeochemistry, limiting the recovery of natural forest and affecting both the vegetation above soil as the root system. The roots are important for the structure and function of forest ecosystems, participating on cycling, accumulation, and uptake of nutrients in the soil, and can be used as an important tool for understanding the processes of regeneration of degraded areas. Thus, this work aims to study possible variations in root biomass and characterize as the roots from plants of C4 or C3 cycles in a pasture area that is in natural regeneration process, localized at Santa Virginia nucleus in Serra do Mar State Park. In order to do that, roots will be weighed and its mass values will be determined as well as the carbon isotope composition (d13C) using the technique of isotopic analysis. (AU)